{"id":6105,"date":"2014-05-25T03:00:47","date_gmt":"2014-05-25T09:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/wrdprs\/?p=6105"},"modified":"2017-09-06T22:57:13","modified_gmt":"2017-09-07T04:57:13","slug":"a-tale-of-two-food-tours-buenos-aires-argentina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/drfumblefinger.com\/blog\/2014\/05\/a-tale-of-two-food-tours-buenos-aires-argentina\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tale of Two Food Tours: Buenos Aires, Argentina"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been my experience that food tours are growing in popularity across the globe.  If an army marches on its stomach, then so does the world’s growing flocks of tourists.  Experiencing local food for most travelers is an integral part of the travel experience — that’s certainly the case with me.<\/p>\n

Food tours have an inherent appeal.  They can save you a lot of research time and are likely to give you a better dining experience than you’d find on your own.  You’re taken to a restaurant a local has selected as an excellent or high quality establishment indicative of that tour’s theme — local food, artisan food, etc.  Many of these restaurants are small “hole-in-the-wall” places that you’d be unlikely to frequent otherwise.  Beyond just the selection of that restaurant, you’ll be given a thorough explanation (in English) of the meal — the kind of background information you’d expected from a guided tour.  Elements like the history of a dish, how it’s prepared, local ingredients, and some unique aspects in the sampled cooking — facts that make for entertaining and delightful eating.  And usually you’re part of a small group of folks with a similar interest in food and food topics.<\/p>\n

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Parrilla Tour, San Telmo (Pedro Telmo)<\/p><\/div>\n

While recently in Buenos Aires, my wife and I went on two food tours, both of high quality but with different themes.  Both tours were in the San Telmo barrio although these companies also conduct food tours in different parts of the city (San Telmo is known for its “elegant decaying” architecture, fine restaurants and tango shows).  Both tours were walking tours that encompassed four different restaurants each; you walk to a new one for each course of the meal, enjoying the ambiance of San Telmo and burning off a very small percentage of the calories you’ve just consumed.  Both tours have lunch and dinner options.  Both tours require prepaid reservations (in US $).  Both offer custom group tours.  Both tours lasted just over 2 hours and had delicious food which more than filled us.<\/p>\n

I’ve chosen to accompany the text of this blog with lots of photos to share with you the visual of the dining experience.  Sadly, there’s no effective way to convey the wonderful taste and smell of the dishes we were served.<\/p>\n

\"Restaurant<\/a>

Restaurant in San Telmo<\/p><\/div>\n

1)  Parrilla Tour<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

Co-owner and our guide, David (an American expat), lead us on this tour which focused on “traditional Buenos Aires” cuisine.  The tour encompassed four restaurants each with excellent food, each a part of the story of the traditional Porteno dining that Parrilla Tour focuses on (note: the theme is traditional good food, not the fancy stuff).  Restaurants we visited were smaller establishments, generally very simple places and frequented by Portenos, not tourists.  Their tour groups tend to be small, maybe a dozen or so clients, and it made for a nice intimate gathering — a fun way to learn about food and culture with some new friends.<\/p>\n